VisualAge TPF for Windows NT - Technology Preview

Take a look at what IBM is doing for TPF application development. The VisualAge TPF remote development environment provides the tools you need to improve quality and productivity. Bring your application development process to a new level with this set of workstation tools and technologically advanced remote tools.

Development Environment User Interface
IBM designed the graphical user interface for VisualAge TPF for ease of use. The GUI is a three-paned window. The first pane contains a tree-based view and the second a contents view. The third pane is used to monitor any remote communications during the development cycle. The user interface lets you easily interact with TeamConnection*, remote and local tools, and state-of-the-art HTML online information. The interface is intuitive and easy to use, but powerful at the same time. A menu bar and toolbar allow easy manipulation of the information in the window. Context menus display the appropriate actions for each type of part.

Editor
VisualAge TPF provides a 32-bit editor that is fast, simple to use, and easily customizable. The editor provides all of the general features expected of a workstation editor-- cut and paste, insert, delete, join, and find. But the editor also provides extra features through language extensions supporting C, C++, and assembler. These language extensions format and display code structures, perform lexical parsing, and support contextual help. The editor also allows you to customize its look and behavior. The editor is extensible and is integrated into the remote compiler.

Remote Compile/Assemble
Remote compile/assemble capability allows you to invoke an OS/390*V2R4 compile/assemble action from a Windows NT client just by selecting a source file. Depending on the file type (C,C++, or assembler), the context menu will contain the appropriate remote compile or assemble choice. When you select that action, the compile/assemble command executes in OpenEdition*, and the results of the compilation are displayed on the workstation. If there are any error messages, just double-click on one and the editor is invoked and positioned at the appropriate place in the code with the error indicated.

Local Applications
VisualAge TPF provides local C and C++ compilers to assist in early syntax checking and logic validation before you deploy your application on TPF. Compile your code on your workstation to either create a workstation C or C++ application or to help remove compile-time errors from the code that will be used on TPF. VisualAge TPF provides access to the local tools you need to debug and analyze the workstation application.

Configuration Management and Version Control
TeamConnection lets you create applications in a true team programming environment. This application development tool helps you manage software configuration and version control as an integrated aspect of your development process. TeamConnection is flexible; it can be tailored to meet the varied requirements of specific teams and project in the following areas:

TeamConnection manages which version of parts are contained in any level of application. Access to those parts is controlled. Actions performed on parts managed by TeamConnection generates automated notifications, ensuring that team members are kept up-to-date. The TeamConnection reporting facility is SQL-based, so you can form queries and store them for use later. The output from queries can be used as input to reporting tools.

TeamConnection supports concurrent development and provides utilities to assist with identification and reconciliation of conflicts. TeamConnection can be used to manage a development process, to insure that all mandated steps are performed, contributing to high-quality applications. The TeamConnection build support provides automated and repeatable builds of individual managed parts, entire releases, or multiple releases. Once a build has been set up, the TeamConnection build is both repeatable and reliable. The same set of inputs always produces the same set of outputs.

TeamConnection provides support to move your application from development to production. The build process can be extended to include transformation of the executables and non-executables into a distribution format.

Remote Debugger
The remote debugger for VisualAge TPF is an interactive source-level debugger. A Windows NT client is connected through TCP/IP to a native TPF environment. The remote debugger allows you to debug assembler, C or C++ applications. The debugger displays application source files and the functions in those source files. You can single-step, step through, step over, or stop execution at a specified line or condition. While controlling execution, you can monitor variables, registers, memory, call stacks, TPF control blocks, and other elements.

Performance Analyzer
The application performance analyzer is a development tool that traces the execution of a program and creates a trace file. You can use it to identify performance problems early in the development cycle. Performance analyzer offers function profiling, which shows the time spent in each function. You can display the acquired information in several ways. The Call Nesting view shows the program as a series of function calls and returns. The Dynamic Call Graph is a visual representation of the program. As well as providing timing information, the graph shows the components of your application as boxes and the interaction between the components as arcs. The Statistics view provides a spreadsheet with all of the information available for the trace.

Prerequisites

Enablement of specific functions and features may be made available over time, but IBM does not warrant or guarantee that the functions and features described in this document will ever be made available or marketed within a product.

For more information please contact: Your IBM representative or

Bob Axt, Worldwide Program Manager - (404)-238-4691 - or
Dave Kier, Worldwide Technical Program Manager - (972)-280-1475

The following terms are trademarks or registered trademarks of the IBM Corporation: IBM, OS/390, OpenEdition, TeamConnection, VisualAge. Windows NT is a trademark or registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd.. The following terms are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Intel Corporation: Intel, Pentium. NFS is a trademark of Sun Microsystems Inc.